- Swiss National Bank keeps rates unchanged; Deflation risk persists, to act decisively to keep CHF from strengthening versus EUR
- US weekly jobless claims edge down to 545,000
- US housing starts rise rise 1.5%, housing permits 2.7%
- Philly Fe survey soars to 14.1 from 4.2; sub-indexes less strong
- BOE’s Sentance: Will asses in next few months if more QE needed
- Geithner: Studying extending first time home buyer tax credit
- Japan’s Jujii: Still time to draft budget before end of fiscal year
- Fed’s Flow of funds survey: Household net worth stops tumbling
- S&P 500 dips 0.3%, first fall in 10 days
- US bond yields dip. 10-year note 3.39, down 6 bp
- Oil pulls back $10 from $1023 intraday highs
EUR/USD broke no new ground in New York for the first time in several days. It managed to extend its overnight range to the downside modestly, from 1.4705 to 1.4690. Offers wee seen building on order books at 1.4770/80. Among the sellers on strength today were central banks, some of home had been active buyers in recent days.
Central banks as diverse as Brasil and Turkey were seen buying dollars today, perhaps a sign that central banks think the dollar slide has been a little overdone. Trend support on the hourly charts stands at 1.4680. Until we dip below that line there is little reason to cut profitable longs.
USD/JPY was in demand during the European session, rising as high as 91.60/65 again before stalling. A single $2-3 bln USD buy order was rumored to have been executed by a US bank early in the US session. 90.00/10 remains very important support. Traders surmise that USD/JPY could continue to fall but that the options market is positioned for such an eventuality. That should keep any decline a grind rather than a collapse. A break above 91.70 will take the downside pressure off the dollar. Stops are seen from there up through 92.20.
Cable was heavily offered during afternoon trade as EUR/GBP continued its steady climb. Worries over the worsening UK fiscal situation and the possibility of lower interest rates are hurting the pound across the board.
AUD mirrored EUR/USD, easing from a new trend high with profit-taking seen from reserve managers on strength this morning. 0.8690/0.8750 was the New York range.
